Gaming smartphones are gaining momentum, and ZTE wants a piece. Following the Red Magic, the new Nubia Red Magic Mars is now official and is now even better, both inside and out. But do these updates help it stand up against the likes of Black Shark, Razer phone or the ROG gaming phone?

Starting off with the specs, it comes with the latest, at least for now, Snapdragon 845 SoC, Adreno 630 GPU and 10GB of RAM. Quite a good start for a gaming phone and up on par with the competition. The display is fairly large at 6-inches, FHD+ resolutions, 18:9 aspect ratio and the LTPS LCD display technology.

That’s all good and everything but what makes the Nubia Red Magic Mars special is that trademark RGB light strip on the back. There is also a new IEC technology, basically dual heat pipes for better cooling. Then comes the shoulder buttons, simply put, two touch-sensitive areas on the sides of the phone.

But that’s not where the goodies end, you also get stereo speakers with DTS 7.1 audio better audio experience. A linear motor has also been installed inside the phone to create “4D shock” haptic feedback. As for undisturbed gaming sessions, you can also find a dedicated esports button. For a more enhanced gaming experience, you can also opt-in for an optional Bluetooth gaming controller.

Following the gaming-oriented luxuries, the smartphone also comes with usual smartphone features like a camera. A 16MP f1/8 lens at the back and an 8MP selfie camera at the front. It also comes with a battery, a huge 3800mAh unit. The smartphone runs on Android 9.0 Pie with Red Magic 1.6 on top, with a few gaming oriented bloatware here and there.

The nubia Red Magic Mars starts at CNY 2,700 for the 6/64GB version while for CNY 3,200 you can get the slightly better 8/128GB version. If you want the full-fledged 10/256GB model, that will cost you CNY 4,000.